From US Naval Research to Red 5 Layoffs - News Roundup 27th January 2010

Today’s news roundup sees the US Navy getting technical with proof that videogames really do make you clever. It’s not such a great day for executives over at Marvelous Entertainment who are being hit with substantial pay-cuts and a similarly bleak outlook for Red 5 Studios who have just lost more than half their employees in one mass layoff.

Videogames make you clever - US Navy News

Although the British navy recently looked into the possibility of using Nintendo DS’ to aid in the tuition of engineers, it is the US Navy which has really come round to the idea that video games have huge potential benefits. The US Navy has just published a report titled ‘Adults Benefit from Playing Video Games’ which outlines the various ways in which gamers’ brains are far better than those of ‘normal people’ (I knew it!).

‘We have discovered that videogame players perform 10 to 20 per cent higher in terms of perceptual and cognitive ability than normal people that are non-game-players,’ explained naval program officer Dr. Ray Perez. ‘We know that videogames can increase perceptual abilities and short-term memory’.

Perez then went on to describe how the military needs people who can think on their on their feet, who are pragmatic, inventive, creative, have good reflexes and who can counteract quickly in the face of a hostile enemy (essentially anyone who's completed Left4Dead 2 on expert). ‘We think that these games increase your executive control, or your ability to focus and attend to stimuli in the outside world,’ added Perez before describing a growing interest amongst military experts for the integration of videogames into training schemes. [Eurogamer]

Marvelous executives to take pay cuts News

Marvelous Entertainment, probably best known for creating Harvest Moon and No More Heroes, has just announced huge executive pay cuts. According to Siliconera the Japanese company will see reductions of around 15%, possibly 17% for all executive staff. Directors will lose somewhere between a quarter and 43% of their income - although it is the CEO who’ll really be feeling the pinch as his salary falls by a whopping 77%. Clearly desperate to secure some capital, the company has also announced plans to sell its 50% share in Rising Start Games. [GamesIndistryBiz]

MMO studio Red 5 hit by layoffs?

It’s also been a bad day for Red 5 Studios who have been forced to layoff more than half their staff and reduce personnel from 65 to 30 in one fail swoop. It appears that an anonymous buyer saved Red 5 from complete shut done however - although the company has been forced to abandon work on an up and coming MMO first person shooter. Red 5’s skeleton staff are now concentrating on developing something new for the Chinese market whilst work on their big project remains on indefinite hold. [Play.TM]

Win An Apple Tablet

Our sister site Bitterwallet.com, is giving away an Apple Tablet!! Fly on over there and read their post for information on how to enter the competition.[Bitterwallet]